The team behind a propulsion thruster for small satellites, created by a 25-year-old student and currently in use in German small satellites, has won this year’s overall Curtinnovation award.
The team behind a propulsion thruster for small satellites, created by a 25-year-old student and currently in use in German small satellites, has won overall Curtinnovation 2024 award.
Developed by 25-year-old Curtin PhD student and mechanical engineer Daniel Turner, alongside Dr Robert Howie and Professor Phil Bland, MiniJet is a spacecraft thruster which enables small satellites to affordably achieve higher orbits and longer missions.
It’s smaller than a AA-battery, and weighs just 25 grams, but the innovative design – which uses intricate lattice structures 3D printed using a unique copper alloy within its thruster, significantly enhances thermal efficiency.
The thruster is currently being used by an unnamed German space company, with plans underway to incorporate it into the next wave of Binar-developed CubeSats.
The MiniJet propulsion system, which is smaller than a AA battery and weighs just 25 grams.
Small satellites have emerged as an economically effective means to perform commercial and scientific research; however, a majority lack propulsion capabilities which limit them to low earth orbit.
On top of longer space mission capabilities and a higher orbit, the thruster also allows small satellites to deorbit to comply with new space debris mitigation regulations.
Speaking to Business News after being named Curtinnovation Griffith Hack Overall winner, Mr Turner said the Binar – the Curtin University space program – was integral to his work.
“I always loved flight in general, so I initially started in aviation with planes, and then fell in love with the space industry, and unfortunately, in WA it's not a very easy thing to do,” he said.
“Then Binar came along and provide an opportunity to research thrusters.
“(Binar is) a vibrant environment of young researchers, engineers, planetary scientists, all working together with the common goal to explore the solar system and do planetary science.”
In terms of what’s next for Mr Turner and the team at Binar, he said even the moon wasn’t the limit.
“Next for Binar is building bigger satellites, going onto bigger things, trying to leave low Earth orbit.
“And part of this invention is to help that, to get another satellite to the moon.”
The Minijet is currently part of the design for a propulsion system which would be the first in Australia capable of taking a satellite to the moon.
Curtin Deputy Vice-Chancellor Melinda Fitzgerald said this year’s winners had set a new standard of excellence.
“Each of these projects not only tackles complex challenges but also paves the way for a better future, whether that’s through advancing space technology, improving healthcare outcomes or enhancing educational experiences,” she said.
Among other award winners was Edison Collab – an AI-tool which captures and converts brainstorm sheets to custom PowerPoint presentations, reports or discussion papers in a matter of seconds – which won the Curtin Entrepreneurs Award.
CESL won the Business and Law Award for its innovative AI chatbot that seeks to encourage students to learn how to navigate the university system themselves through self-regulated learning.
ChemoDX was the winner of the Health Sciences Award for its early detection of chemotherapy drug response in ovarian cancer.
The ChemoDX team developed a diagnostic test to determine a patient’s likely response to platinum chemotherapy before treatment commences.
SMAAT: Speech Movement and Acoustic Analysis Tracking won the science and engineering award for its novel software combining state-of-the-art facial technology to support speech pathologists in diagnosing speech sound disorders.
Moombaki Noongar Cultural Virtual Quest won the Humanities award for its VR application, which blends virtual reality with classroom teachings centred on Noongar language, culture and history.
It consists of a comprehensive Noongar curriculum accompanied by various resources for diverse learning styles, including class activity sheets and PowerPoint presentations, a mobile game playable on iPads, a virtual reality game, and an immersive on-country camp experience.
And Maintenance Schedule Optimiser took the Trailblazer award for its automated shutdown scheduling technology, which calculates optimal workflows for shutdowns, and has resulted in a downtime reduction of around 25 per cent
